The ability to understand and use advanced computer and industrial technology becomes more valuable every single day.
And thanks to a new endeavor, students in Upper Arlington and Grandview Heights city schools have greater access to those skills than ever before.
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Those opportunities are coming via a partnership with Innovation Generation, as well as an agreement between the two school districts.
Innovation Generation, based in Reynoldsburg, works with 15 central Ohio school districts to provide technological opportunities to which their students might not otherwise have access. And the programs do more than expand students’ knowledge; they allow students the chance to obtain college credit, or work toward professional certification, teaching real-life problem-solving skills.
“Whether they’re going directly into a career or planning to go to college, this is preparing them for it,” says Marc Alter, instructional technology specialist for Grandview schools.
It’s funded by a $14.4 million Straight A Fund grant from the state, along with investments from such entities as Battelle, JPMorgan Chase and Columbus State Community College. Though 2014-15 is the first school year in which Innovation Generation curriculum has been offered, the Central Ohio Compact – a partnership among businesses, schools and the government, convened by Columbus State to improve from 30 to 60 the percentage of Ohio workers with education beyond high school by 2025 – was formed in 2012.
Students in UA and Grandview schools have access to three sets of Innovation Generation curriculum: advanced manufacturing and robotics, networking and digital technology, and Academy M.D.
From the outside, the most recognizable part of the Innovation Generation program is the MIT Mobile Fab Lab, used in the advanced manufacturing and robotics curriculum. Most school districts that participate have a Fab (short for “fabrication”) Lab packed with equipment that can either be used in the mobile classroom itself or removed for use in the schools themselves; the vast majority of Grandview’s and UA’s equipment use takes place in the classroom.
The items students can use range from a 3D printer to a computer-controlled cutting router.
“They have 3D modeling software so they can design 3D problem-solving projects,” says Alter.
Grandview industrial technology teacher Brad Gintert already had some of the cutting-edge equipment in his classroom, so when the district gained access to the Fab Lab, he worked with Upper Arlington officials to divide the items between the two school districts. Though some districts shuttle the Fab Lab among schools, the equipment-sharing arrangement between Grandview and Upper Arlington means each district has access to the necessary equipment without needing to move the mobile lab around, though UA does rotate some equipment between its two middle schools.
The advanced manufacturing and robotics classes are offered this year to seventh-graders, with curriculum expanding into later grades as students in the program get older.
“(Educational technology students) do design work, they do engineering work, they do robotics work,” says Emilie Greenwald, chief academic officer at Upper Arlington.
Upper Arlington already had an extensive technology education program for its middle-schoolers, focusing on project-based learning, Greenwald says. But Innovation Generation gives those efforts a significant upgrade – at no taxpayer expense, thanks to the grant.
“This takes it to the next level and brings in those extra things that we didn’t have, and gives our kids additional opportunities in design and engineering,” says Greenwald.
The 3D printer alone has allowed students to learn how to create such items as custom cell phone cases, Alter says, and Gintert has invited other district teachers to bring his students problems they can use technology to solve. Students are even working with Paul Werth Associates to design promotional materials for the Innovation Generation program itself.
“I like the idea that if you can imagine something, you can create it,” Alter says.
Academy M.D. is offered in Hilliard City Schools, but UA and Grandview students can sign up for it. It allows students to learn about medical technology, gain real work experience in partnership with medical and pharmaceutical organizations and earn college credit at Columbus State and, eventually, medical certification.
The networking and digital technology program, offered at the high school level, centers largely on information technology, which is a major growth industry. Students learn both IT skills and the knowledge to use them with business processes, technical problem-solving, critical thinking and more. Not only can students earn college credit, but they can also work toward network certification through Cisco Systems.
That program is offered at Upper Arlington High School, and Grandview students can sign up for it, as can Hilliard students. The introductory courses offered this year are computer science and basic networking.
Garth Bishop is managing editor. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
